Local 'truthpaper' hits back at critics

Thursday 19 August 2021

The team behind a pandemic-sceptic newspaper has said it wouldn’t need to exist if the media had been “doing their job” by reporting both sides of the “covid-19 debate” in a “fair and balanced way", as it hit out at Jersey Post's decision to suspend its delivery.

‘The Rock’ – a “people-funded” local adaptation of the UK’s ‘The Light’ – was delivered to homes across St. Brelade, St. Clement, Grouville, St. Peter, St. Mary and St. John earlier this week.

Its content included articles questioning the pandemic, covid testing and vaccines, and decrying the alleged 'Nazification of the NHS'.

One by Dr Vernon Coleman, who Wikipedia describes as an "English conspiracy theorist, anti-vaccination activist [and] AIDS denialist", said readers would "have to be mentally deficient in some way - perhaps through wearing a mask for too long and suffering the inevitable dementia - to believe that we are in the middle of a pandemic."

He also said that “the disease known as covid-19 was never anything more than a means to an end; a training programme” and that “the plan is for mandatory vaccinations for all” – something Jersey’s Government has never advocated. 

Pictured: An extract from Dr Vernon's opinion piece. 

Jersey Post suspended distribution on Monday following a spate of complaints from local readers about what they described as “dangerous” misinformation. Senator Sam Mézec described The Light as a “nasty covid conspiracy paper.”

Hitting back, a spokesperson for The Rock told Express said it was of "great concern that it has been unilaterally decided to stop circulating The Rock Newspaper upon pressure placed on Jersey Post."

"The Rock is a privately-funded paper, and there was a commercial contract between Jersey Post and The Rock to distribute its newspapers. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are fundamental freedoms that all of us enjoy," they said, before later adding: "Jersey Post's decision shows clearly that any voice other than those supporting the flagrant breaches of our human rights and civil liberties will be silenced."

Referring to the Postal Services (Jersey) Law 2004, which prohibits the posting of items capable of creating "harm" or that are "indecent, obscene or... grossly offensive", they maintained: "If the material contained in The Rock falls within these categories, it is for the people asserting this to prove it under the law, not for a small number of complaints to trigger the banning of delivery of The Rock."

The spokesperson also questioned why the Government was reviewing the paper's content, adding: "The real question here is how can such enshrined freedoms be taken away so lightly?"

The Rock went on to explain that they "take their freedom of expression very seriously" and said it seemed "very strange that across the world, the press have taken a one-sided approach to the issue of covid-19."

It was for this reason, they explained, that The Rock was apparently born in the first place.

Pictured: Jersey Post stopped delivering the newspaper on Monday.

"The Rock has tried to give an alternate voice to the covid-19 debate, and had the traditional press institutions been doing their job by reporting both sides in a fair and balanced way, there would be no place for The Rock or similar publications across the globe," the spokesperson said.

They added that "what happens next in this will go a long way to showing if the traditional press is a mouthpiece for the Government", adding that "the traditional press can now either vilify The Rock and sensationalise the complaints by a small minority (there have also been many in favour of the publication)" or "stand up for freedom of free speech and expression by investigating how the will of a few can stop such rights".

The Rock's spokesperson did not address claims on social media that the paper's contents were "misinformation" and conspiracy theories.

The Light's website's Terms say any content is "provided for general information only" and "is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely." It adds: "You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site."

The Terms also state that The Light makes "no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on our site is accurate, complete or up-to-date."

While accredited media are regulated, binding them to a series of ethical standards, The Rock and its parent paper, The Light, are not.

While The Rock’s founder and 'Editor' has not been made public, The Light’s founder has been identified as Manchester-based Darren Smith, who “runs an anti-pandemic clothing chain selling T-shirts with slogans such as ‘scamdemic’ and clothing questioning the 9/11 attacks”, according to the Guardian.

'Truthpaper': the anti-lockdown newspaper bypassing online fact-checkers https://t.co/2ZJTgrd8ss

— The Guardian (@guardian) November 27, 2020

Pictured: An article about the origins of The Light and its founder, Darren Smith.

The Rock included adverts for “radiation harmonising pendants” to protect mobile phone users and “counter-mainstream narrative coffee mugs” including slogans such as, “DON’T VAX THE KIDS".

In an advert for itself, The Rock tells readers, “YOU can help share the truth!” by purchasing copies for distribution.

While Jersey Post has stopped delivering The Light, Express is aware that copies are still being offered on social media and Telegram and distributed informally by members of Jersey's 'Freedom movement'.

The movement has held several rallies over summer, in which ITV's Real Housewives of Jersey star Hedi Green has made several speeches. She appeared on the front page of The Rock with co-stars Margaret Thompson and Kate Taylor alongside the caption, “JERSEY HOUSEWIVES SUPPORT FREEDOM.”

ITV said it had "nothing to add" when contacted by Express about the Real Housewives' association with The Rock.

Pictured: Stars of the Real Housewives of Jersey on the front page.

Since announcing that Deputy Chief Minister Senator Lyndon Farnham and his officers would be reviewing the content of The Rock on Tuesday, the Government is yet to issue further comment on their findings.

At the time, Senator Farnham "strongly urge[d] islanders to ensure that their information about covid-19 comes from trusted, evidence-based, verified sources.”